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During the race riots in 1967, Isaac Hayes noticed that looters would pass by any business that had the word "Soul" painted on it. That gave him the idea to write "Soul Man," today's "Great Song of the '60s and '70s."
Isaac intended it to be be a soulful song of brotherhood within the black community, but he quickly realized that many of life's experiences were shared in their own way by blacks, whites, and all races alike.
Lyricist David Porter made a list of attributes that described HIS version of what a "Soul Man" would encompass. These included "Rural, Hardscrabble, a Great Lover, Monogamous, and a likeable Personality that would draw people to him. If you listen closely to the finished song, you can hear how David incorporated all of those traits.
TRIVIA: The lyrics mention being "educated at Woodstock," more than two years BEFORE the famous music festival. According to David, he came up with the name when thinking that a "Soul Man" would come from "the sticks," and educated with small town values. The music festival was entirely unrelated.
The duo of Sam (Moore) and Dave (Prater) recorded the song, backed by Booker T. & the MGs--minus Booker, who was away a college," and the single not only went to #1 on Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Chart and #2 on the Hot 100, it won the Grammy Award for "Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance." It spent decades on Rolling Stone's List of the "Top 500 Songs of All Time," and The Library of Congress added it to its National Recording Registry as"culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.
TRIVIA #2: Steve Cropper played guitar on the track, and that explains Sam shouting "Play it, Steve" in the middle of the song.
And that brings us to November of 1978.
The Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) performed the song as a skit on "Saturday Night Live," and it went over so well, it was released as a single in 1979. It reached #14 on the Hot 100.
Belushi & Aykroyd had a lot of fun with it, and their recording featured a backing band that included Paul Shaffer and Steve Cropper--which, of course, allowed Belushi to yell "Play It, Steve," just like Sam had done years before.
Before long, The Blues Brothers were touring the country, and a movie was made, featuring an A-list of soulful singers, including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, Cab Calloway, and Chaka Khan--all involved in the Brothers' "Mission from God" to save the orphanage where they grew up.
By the way, when Dave Prater was asked what he thought of "The Blues Brothers rendition of "Soul Man," he said, "I'd say they were good comedians." Ouch.
The original 1967 Sam & Dave version is legendary, and well deserving of all the "Great Song" accolades they've received over the years...
But The Blues Brothers version--although played for fun-- was a bona fide phenomenon in its day--and a legitimate "Great Song of 19'79."
Blues Brothers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdfImB4iOLo
Sam & Dave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edCH7R4uYmQ
Tomorrow: Are You Ready for a one-hit wonder?
Coming Soon: Great Songs the '80s!
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